The past year has not been easy on anyone due to the pandemic. While there is a lingering fear of contracting an illness, there have also been a lot of changes in people’s routines – including staying away from family and friends, and staying at home when possible during lockdown orders.
Staying at home more often has had a negative side effect – namely, more overall waste being created. Canadians are producing more waste during the pandemic than prior, and the trend is continuing. But what is contributing to the waste, and how can junk removal companies help?
Staying Home Led to More Residential Waste
People have been ordering in food more often rather than dining out – which has led to an accumulation of food packaging. On top of that, people have been buying more disposable items out of convenience or necessity. The outcome, according to statistics that were published by the CBC, is that the amount of garbage seen by junk removal in Toronto and other major cities across Canada was up as much as 35% during some months last year.
One of the contributing items to the additional residential waste is people buying more items from online marketplaces. The e-commerce industry added $105 billion in 2020 alone in the U.S. due to the pandemic, with similar trends in Canada.
With electronics and other products arriving on the doorstep, all the cardboard from boxes has to go somewhere. Stats also published by CBC show that cardboard made up a significantly higher percentage of recycling in 2020 compared to a year previous.
Even single-use plastics increased recently, from utensils included in delivery food to more plastic grocery bags due to bans on reusable ones at some grocery stores.
Renovation Waste Also on The Rise
In some ways, commercial waste went down a bit compared to usual during the earlier pandemic, due to a slowdown in economic activity. However, there was another trend in 2020 (continuing into 2021) due to the fact people couldn’t travel too far or even visit the workplace – leading to more home renovations. People have increasingly been making their own properties into a live/work oasis, adding offices and performing other upgrades.
A published report from earlier this year suggested that home contractors have been very busy, with 26% more building supplies sold in January 2021 compared to the same month in 2019. However, with home renovations comes a lot of renovation/demolition waste such as drywall, wood, glass, and plastic, all of it that can be handled by most same day junk removal companies. Of course, construction supplies also come with a lot of packaging that needs to be dealt with as well.
Meanwhile, some businesses have made the difficult decision to downsize or close their physical locations during the pandemic. This has resulted in more office cleanouts of furniture and other items that same day junk removal companies deal with on a regular basis.
How To Curb Junk?
With all of this in mind, how will individuals and companies reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills? There are a few ways to achieve this, along with partnering with junk removal companies that always try to recycle materials when possible. (Some of these waste removal partners can even donate items.)
One way is for individuals to order products that are local – which may help mitigate how much packaging is available, and also lessen the impact on the environment from transporting it. This strategy not only is greener, but it also benefits the community economically by creating local jobs and increasing investments in the neighbourhood.
People can also skip over the extra items offered in their food deliveries – such as utensils and napkins – and instead use what they already have. While the federal government aims to ban single-use plastics, you can get a head start now by bringing your own cloth bags to the grocery store, as an example.
From a more commercial standpoint, contractors can consider the materials they are buying to make sure they are recyclable or can be reused down the road. They can also source their supplies from companies that use optimal packaging and logistics for their products.
Whether you’re a homeowner or a business owner, you can benefit from an expert Toronto junk removal service to handle the increase in waste and ensure it gets to the right place for recycling when possible. Learn more about the benefits from 1-800-Rid-Of-It, and save 10% off pickup of items from outdoor areas.